


The Search

by cloudyjenn



Category: Supernatural
Genre: M/M, Mates, Wolves
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2011-11-02
Updated: 2011-11-02
Packaged: 2017-10-25 15:44:36
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 10,832
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/271997
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/cloudyjenn/pseuds/cloudyjenn
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Castiel is a wolf forced on a mate-search. Dean is a wolf without a pack, living alone in the woods with his brother. They meet.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This is the so-called "Wolf Verse."

When Balthazar and Anna mated, Castiel became the very last unpaired wolf in the pack. A fact he didn't seem to notice, but which worried the dickens out of everyone else. Balthazar in particular, being Castiel's brother, was concerned about him.

"Look at him," he huffed as he and Anna watched Castiel eating away from the main group. "He's a pathetic lump."

"So were you until we mated," she reminded him.

"Darling, I was never pathetic. I always knew we'd be together. I was simply waiting until I was in the mood to tie myself down." As the fire sparked in her eyes, he quickly added, "Also, I love you?" She pounced anyway and for a few moments, they forgot about Castiel.

***********************

The thing was, Anna had been the last unmated female in their pack who was old enough to pair off. Balthazar and Castiel were the last two males. Everyone had known she would pick one of the two brothers and quite frankly, the only wolf surprised she picked Balthazar was Balthazar himself.

"Really thought she'd go for the strong silent type," he confessed to Castiel a week after Anna had began sleeping in Balthazar's den.

Castiel sat down and cocked his head. "But she has always loved you."

Balthazar tried not to preen. It was easier to do when a certain thought occurred to him. "You don't resent me?"

"Why would I do that?" Castiel asked, his confusion deepening.

"...because you just missed out on the hottest piece of tail in the pack?"

"No, Balthazar, I don't resent you."

***********************

About five months after he mated, Balthazar was drinking water from the stream when Gordon plopped his rump down beside him and gave him a smirk Balthazar immediately disliked. Not that he liked much about Gordon to begin with. If it was possible to kick someone out of the pack, well..."That brother of yours ever gonna go lone?"

The fur bristled at the back of Balthazar's neck. There were three options for a wolf who couldn't mate in his own pack. He could join another pack with unmated wolves to choose from. Or he could convince a wolf from a different pack to join his own. Or he could simply leave. Strike out on his own and try to survive without the benefits of a home or a mate. It was a path rarely taken and only by wolves who didn't feel the pull of mating. Wolves who bore a frightening resemblance to his own stupid brother.

"He isn't going to go lone," Balthazar said curtly and then because he had a tendency to lie when cornered, he added, "He's planning on a mate search."

Gordon snorted, obviously seeing through the falsehood. "Right, well. Good luck to him on that. With a personality like that, it should be easy."

Balthazar growled low in his throat, but only watched as Gordon drank his fill and sauntered off into the forest. Fuck. Fuckity fuck. Castiel would not like this.

***********************

"You were obviously joking."

Bal was afraid of this. The confused deadpan tone. "No, Cassy, I wasn't joking. I was lying," Bal said. "But I shouldn't have been. You need a mate."

Castiel growled and pawed at the ground. "I have no need for a mate."

Frustration and fear settled in Bal's gut. "The fact that you believe that really worries me."

"Why?"

"I have no need to see you alone."

"I'm hardly alone. I have-"

"Fine then. I'm afraid you'll go lone. Or be forced to."

Shock stiffened Castiel’s frame. "They wouldn't..."

"They might," Bal said wearily.

***********************

Castiel never looked at other wolves. Oh sure, he saw them all the time, but he never cared for their looks. He never understood why his fellow male wolves fawned over the female's sleek coats and shapely hindquarters. And he didn't understand why Bal was making him go on this search.

"I'm not in the mood to mate," he complained.

"Please don't say that, Cassy. It gives me heartburn."

***********************

"Why do I have to go alone? I'm going so I won't be alone. Isn't that a task that requires company?"

Balthazar tried not to whip his tail at Castiel's backside as they walked towards the edge of their pack's territory. In his life, he'd never met a wolf who sounded less like a wolf. If he hadn't been present for all of Castiel's upbringing, he would have thought the pup was raised by humans.

"Because if more than one wolf approaches another pack, they'll think they are about to be attacked," he explained with more patience than he realized he possessed. "But if you approach by your wee self, they'll assume you're lone or on a mate search. Either way they won't rip you or more importantly your familial traveling companions to shreds."

Castiel gave a mournful growl in the back of his throat. Balthazar hated hearing the sound.

"I don't understand why we all have to be the same. Bringing in a new wolf will just upset the entire pack."

He made a good point. No wolf took to strangers very well on first meeting, but if the new she-wolf came in as Castiel's mate, it wouldn't be long before the others warmed to her. When she and Castiel had pups, none of the pack would ever remember that she hadn't been born a member.

"They'll come around. And you'll have a much happier den. And it couldn't hurt your disposition to have sex now and again."

Castiel's expression soured.

"It hasn't helped yours any."

Balthazar bared his teeth in a delighted grin. He'd much rather send off a teasing Castiel than a moping one.

They reached the clearing that officially marked the start of neutral lands. The sun had just begun unclenching cold gray fingers across the horizon. Castiel was a fast wolf. He could be miles and miles from home by the time evening reclaimed the land.

"Are you ready?"

Castiel danced with uncharacteristic nerves. His sharp blue eyes remained fixed on the distance where light had not yet penetrated.

"I'm not sure I can do this," he admitted softly.

"I know it's frightening, Cassy, but I wish you'd trust me on this. No wolf should be alone," Balthazar said.

"It's not that," Castiel said, his voice dipping even quieter. "I know I'm not...I never wanted the other wolves, but they never wanted me either."

Balthazar tried to piece together the meaning behind this pained confession. Most of the she-wolves, save Anna, had chosen early on. It wasn't that they didn't want Castiel so much as they wanted someone else more.

"There must be a female for you somewhere," Balthazar finally said.

Castiel heaved a great sigh. "I'm not sure that's true, brother."

Granted, Balthazar wasn't very attuned to male beauty, but Castiel was not ugly, he knew that much. In fact, his unusual black fur and bright blue eyes made him stand out in the looks department. Sure, he could be awkward and sometimes spent entire weeks without saying much of anything to anyone, but he cared about his family deeply and was generous to a fault. Not to mention freakishly strong and protective. Some she-wolf somewhere would take a shine to him. Balthazar believed that.

"Cas, if you don't come back mated, I'll eat my own tail."

To his pleasure, Castiel released a puff of a laugh. "You may regret that promise."

"Never. Now go before I push you out."

Castiel leaned over to nuzzle a goodbye against Balthazar's neck. A gesture that lingered longer than usual for his reserved brother.

"You'll be fine," Balthazar couldn't help adding.

"I hope you're right," Castiel murmured before turning and bounding away across the clearing and toward his future.

***********************

Castiel liked his den just the way it was. Big enough to roll around in leaves if he so desired, but small enough to shelter him from the fierce winds of the cold seasons. All this obsession with finding a den mate gave Castiel a headache. None of the females in his pack ever interested him. Their scents never smelled sweet or delicious like his brothers described when they pursued a mate. He couldn't honestly say he _never_ wanted a pup. But he didn't seem to feel the intense drive to produce smaller versions of himself. He enjoyed his life exactly how it was.

But apparently that would lead his own pack to drive him into the hills. Or so Balthazar would have him believe. Castiel had suspected his packmates were becoming concerned about him. He just hadn't realized they were also growing suspicious. And in the back of his mind, where he was as pure wolf as any of them, Castiel understood why. Their very survival depended on staying together and building strong family structures. Any wolf that didn't match was a threat.

Castiel wasn't sure he believed as fervently as some of his packmates, but he wasn't so opposed to the idea of mating that he'd let it stand in the way of staying unquestionably attached to his pack.

So that was why he found himself trotting through a thick patch of undergrowth hours from his pack's territory. Like any wolf, Castiel was well trained in tracking, but he'd rarely traveled this far from his home. He'd heard that another pack had traditionally made this area their home, but thus-far, Castiel couldn't find much more than faint traces of scents long dead. Clearly, a large number of wolves had once dwelt here, but they must have moved on. It frustrated Castiel because he wanted to find this mate and get home as soon as possible. It was nearly time for the leaves to change. Castiel liked wandering in the outskirts of their territory and watching them fall off the trees. He didn't want to miss that because he was trying to find a random she-wolf.

He slept that first night under a some sort of thick green bush that kept most of the wind off him. When morning came, he resolved to switch directions slightly and head towards rumors of a large pack in warmer climes. If he happened to find a mate in this pack, Castiel sincerely hoped she would come back home with him. He didn't like the way warm weather made his blood hot under his fur.

It turned out that Castiel needn't have worried. Something happened only a few hours into his day's walk that threw his journey permanently off-course.

Shortly after breakfast, Castiel began picking up slightly stronger scents than those he was leaving behind. Not enough to constitute a pack, but enough to arouse Castiel's interest. Perhaps a scout from a nearby pack unknown to Castiel's pack. A closer advantage. The moment Castiel first noticed it, he changed his route, eagerly following his keen nose as the scent grew stronger. He thought it probably belonged to a male and judging by the undertones, peaceful wolf. Or at least a wolf that hadn't fought recently. Which was good news. Some aggressive packs sent members to their borders to keep away all intruders, even wolves searching for mates.

"Hello?" Castiel said when he found a pile of leaves that had clearly been slept on by the wolf. Very recently. No one answered, but Castiel thought he heard a faint crackling noise, like a twig being trod on. He galloped towards the noise, clawing through thick underbrush and calling out as he went. "Hello? Can I please speak to you? Hello?"

He burst out into a clearing and stumbled to a halt. A massive wolf stood at the other end of the clearing before a low den. His light eyes filled with startled fear when Castiel appeared and he lowered himself into a defensive position, his deep brown fur raising a dark line across his back. Castiel paused, nonplussed. He understood the caution, but the stripe of panic lining the emotion concerned him. As did the ugly scar cut into his face, creating a fur-less line from his temple to his cheek.

"Oh, I'm sorry," he said as realization set in. This wasn't a pack member at all. This was a frightened and cornered lone wolf. The most dangerous sort of wolf. "I'll just leave. I didn't realize-"

His sentence was never finished because at that very moment, a blur of brown shot out of the bushes to his left and slammed into him, rolling him onto his back and knocking the breath from his lungs.

"Stay the hell away from him," a voice growled right into Castiel's ears. "I told you I'd fucking kill you bastards if you came back here."

The wolf laying on Castiel was surprisingly heavy. He must be made entirely from muscle and every pound of it was pressing Castiel into the dirt. But even if he wanted to breathe, there was no way Castiel could think well enough to work his lungs when he felt the strange wolf's teeth against his neck. Castiel had known this mating business was a bad idea. Now he was going to have to fight off two giant wolves without getting killed himself. Against one, Castiel would have more confidence. Against two, he wasn't sure he'd have much success.

"Dean!" the other wolf barked and in his distraction, the wolf flattening Castiel eased up enough to release both Castiel's throat and his lungs. He drew in a long breath. A deep intense inhalation of the strange wolf's scent.

"Oh," Castiel growled softly.

Oh.

So _that_ was what Balthazar meant when he said he wanted nothing more than to have his den smell like Anna for the rest of their lives.

He buried his nose in the thick sandy brown fur at the wolf's...at Dean's neck and took another satisfying lungful. Oh yes. This wolf smelled wonderful. Castiel would like to take this smell home with him. He didn't even fear his position anymore. Surely nothing that smelled this good could ever hurt him.

The wolf above him tensed, but that didn't stop Castiel from nosing through his fur and nipping happily at his ears. This was perfect. If they started back now, they could be home by the following afternoon and Castiel could have hide his new mate in his den until it smelled exactly like the intoxicating scent currently filling his nose.

He couldn't have asked for a better outcome.

***********************

At first, the only thing Dean could see was red. The second he sensed Sam's fear and smelled his panic, Dean sprang into action, abandoning his hunt and galloping through the rough underbrush towards their den. He swore to protect him when Sammy was still a pup and he'd already failed once. Never again. Any wolf that threatened him would find himself getting up close and personal with Dean's teeth.

And that was exactly what happened. There was a strange wolf in their clearing. Moving closer to their den. And to Sammy.

Not again. They'd already nearly ripped Sammy apart. Dean wouldn't let it happen again. If he had to spill every drop of his own blood, he wouldn't let it happen.

The other wolf was saying something to Sam. What, Dean didn't know or care. He only had a very brief moment to register the deep ebony of the other wolf's fur before he was on him, crashing into him at full speed and rolling them both until Dean was firmly atop the stranger. An unusual scent tried to make itself known, but Dean's blood rage held his mind too entirely to allow discernment.

"Stay the hell away from him," he snarled. "I told you I'd fucking kill you bastards if you came back here."

To his very great surprise, the wolf under him did not fight back. The three or four wolves who'd attacked Sam were vicious and relentless. Dean couldn't imagine those animals giving even the appearance of submission. As Dean's teeth sunk through the fur of his neck, the stranger's muscles only remained tense from the panic at his restricted breathing. He made no attempt to challenge Dean.

"Dean!" Sam shouted and that was his scolding tone. Not his warning or his frightened bark. He actually sounded annoyed. Clearly, Dean had misread the situation. He released the new wolf's neck and glanced up at his brother, intending to ask him a question. But then the other wolf began doing something that stole his thoughts clean out of his mind.

He was _nuzzling_ Dean. Just...sticking his nose right into Dean's fur and...holy shit, chewing on his ears. A shiver vibrated up his spine and that was when the scent that had been clamoring for attention finally made it past Dean's fading rage.

Oh dear _god_. The wolf below him, the one who'd submitted so very sweetly, had the most delicious scent Dean had ever known. It was better than Sam's, better than any member of his former pack, better even than any of the she-wolves Dean had considered mating. And Dean didn't even know why. The wolf smelled like any other. Like clean fur and forest scents. But it was so good Dean wanted to rub himself all over the other wolf so he could always have that scent on him.

"W-what are you doing?" he asked.

He wanted to see the other wolf, but was too reluctant to pull away from the crazy-good sensations the other wolf was creating in him.

"Learning you," the other wolf said, his chest rumbling about Dean's. "So I can always find you."

Okay. What. The. Hell.

Dean finally pulled away, but couldn't deny it was only because Sam was trotting up to them. The stranger peered up at Dean with weird crystal blue eyes and a slight pleased smile.

"Who are you?" Sam asked as he walked around to stand beside Dean. Presenting a united front. Though Dean thought they probably didn't have much to fear from this creature. In fact, it was truly difficult not to move closer, just so he could breathe in as much of that gorgeous scent as possible.

"My name is Castiel. I'm on a mate-search and now I've found you, I'd like to go home."

"Found..." Dean blinked.

"I take it you mean Dean," Sam said blankly.

It probably wasn't a good sign that the idea of Castiel meaning anyone, but himself made a hint of that blood rage from earlier return.

Not a good sign at all.

"You're a guy," Dean pointed out.

Castiel nodded and flipped over onto his feet. "Yes. I never wanted to mate any of the females in my pack and now I suspect I understand why. I'm sorry we can't have our own cub, but I suspect we'll be fine regardless."

Their own cub?

No, seriously. What. The. Hell.

***********************

Castiel wasn't entirely ignorant. He knew this mating was very unusual and the two other wolves would be understandably resistant to the idea of two males making a pairing. Despite what everyone said about the emotional and spiritual gratification of finding your mate, the practical side of building a stable family unit was to produce the next generation. But there were already many young mated pairs in Castiel's pack that could provide that generation. They would not suffer for the lack of cubs from Castiel. They would not even have to suffer the lack of cubs from his particular family. Balthazar would see to that.

"I know this is unprecedented, but now that it's happened, I don't see why it should be a problem," Castiel said in a reasonable tone.

"Now that _what's_ happened?" Dean growled. The noise raised the fur along Castiel's neck. That will be a pleasant sound to hear first thing in the mornings. Even lined with tension, Dean's voice made Castiel feel warm down to his paws.

"Now that we've become mates," Castiel said.

It was the only explanation for the smells. Not just Dean's natural gorgeous scent, but the underlying hints of arousal Castiel picked up from the other wolf. Obviously, Dean was reacting to Castiel in the same way Castiel reacted to him. He couldn't believe he'd ever not wanted to find his mate. No matter how strange the others always considered him, Castiel _was_ a wolf. Finding his mate sparked instinctive pleasure so deep it couldn't be denied. Never before had another wolf's scent changed for him before. Castiel wanted to nuzzle at Dean's jaw again, but both he and Sam stood well back of Castiel now. It gave Castiel a moment to really look at them. Both were large, though Sam beat Dean by a few inches and at least twenty pounds. Dark brown fur, light green eyes and long muzzles. Castiel couldn't help considering Dean significantly more beautiful, but both wolves were attractive. And similar enough that Castiel suspected what he next asked.

"Are you brothers?"

"Yeah and-" Sam started, but Dean cut him off with a sharp bark.

"Sam!" His commanding tone made Sam growl softly, but he obeyed without question. "Listen, buddy," Dean continued. "I don't know what you think is going on here, but we're not mates just because you say so and we're not really looking to grow a pack here, so why don't you just get on with your search and leave us the hell alone."

Castiel's ears flattened against his head. The words cut through down to his heart and not just because the rejection stung. Dean's scent had soured, turned sickly with regret and sadness. He didn't want to be saying these words any more than Castiel wanted to hear them.

"You're lying," Castiel accused. He'd never been particularly aggressive with his packmates. But his mother always did say he'd lose his filter when he met his mate. "Why are you lying to me?"

"I'm not lying," Dean snarled, but he also moved nearer and his scent grew heavy with arousal once more. Anger and passion were closely tied in this wolf. "So just move on before I _make_ you-"

"Dean," Sam interrupted, voice soft and gentle. "Maybe we should talk to him."

Dean whirled on his brother, fur bristled and throat now constantly rumbling with a growl Castiel thought was more worry than anything. "No! No, he's a stranger; he moves on. It's too dangerous."

"I don't think he's a threat," Sam argued, his sharp green gaze shifting to Castiel's face. Where Dean's expression hid more than it showed, Sam's was nothing, but frank curiosity and interest. "He doesn't smell like the others."

"What others?"

"The ones that gave me this," Sam said over Dean's protests, shaking his head to indicate the deep scar cut across the fur on his face. "There's about four or five of them. We're not sure, but we think they might have been forced out of their pack. They're...bloodthirsty."

"They'll be fucking dead if I ever see them again," Dean declared, his voice soft with deadly promise. Castiel crawled forward, belly close to the ground so he wouldn't startle Dean. The scent mood between them was already forming into that powerful mate connection which would allow Castiel to nearly always sense Dean's prevailing emotions. In that moment, he understood what Sam meant to Dean. He'd only ever scented that mixture of helpless fear and protective rage in parents with regards to their cubs.

"I don't know those wolves," Castiel promised.

Whether because Dean unconsciously wanted the closeness or because he was too wrapped up in angry thoughts to notice the approach, Castiel didn't care. He took advantage of Dean's stillness to stretch up to a standing position and press his muzzle under Dean's. He'd seen many of the she-wolves doing the same to their mates and if that made him the submissive partner, Castiel could accept that. It was worth it to feel Dean relax and release another sort of growl. A most likely involuntary rasp of pleasure.

"Come back to my pack with me," Castiel said, his mouth moving against the fur at Dean's collar. "We can protect you and your brother."

"What?" Dean asked, startled.

But not enough to move away from Castiel's touch. Behind him, Castiel heard Sam give an interested whine. That would work in his favor, Castiel suspected.

"Our numbers would be enough to keep you safe even if we didn't have many skilled hunters and fighters," Castiel said, moving enough to look Dean in the eye. He stepped closer though, close enough that Dean's front legs crowded on either side of Castiel's. "You are both without pack, correct?"

"Well, yeah, but-"

"Then you will need a new family."

Disbelief shaded the hope in Dean's eyes.

"It's not like we can just join any pack we want-"

"My pack will accept my new mate and any family he brings," Castiel countered with a frown. "You must know that. You have been a member of a pack before?" If Castiel hadn't caught the flash of grief on Dean's face, he definitely would have scented the emotion between them. It had Castiel even closer still, rubbing his cheek against Dean's. "You don't have to tell me now," he said softly in Dean's ear. "Come home with me."

"Fuck, Cas, it's not...it's not that easy."

Castiel's heart leapt at the familiarity, but before he could continue his argument, Sam was walking up to Dean, his paws scuffing at the leaves newly fallen. His scent wasn't nearly so clear to Castiel as Dean's, but even so, he sensed Sam's fatigue. When they first met, it had been tightly wound up and put away, ignored till it could be dealt with.

"Can't we just try, Dean?" Sam asked. "I'm really sick of all this moving and a new den every week and always wondering if they're gonna come back...I'd like to stop."

Dean stared at his brother and in no visible way did his stance or expression change.

But oh did his scent ever change. It turned sweet and relieved and nervous and _so_ very wonderful. Castiel didn't need to hear Dean's answer, wasn't bothered by the prospect of further half-hearted protests.

By nightfall, he'd have his new mate in his den.


	2. Chapter 2

Dean seriously wondered if he'd lost his mind. The very last thing he'd ever expected to be doing after what happened with their pack and then Sam was following a strange wolf anywhere. On the surface, Castiel seemed genuine and harmless, even clueless that his actions might seem anything other than perfectly normal. But Dean had learned well not to trust the way things appeared.

Yet every single time he thought about stopping their little party to protest, he'd get a snortful of that fucking scent that clung to Castiel or remember how Sam begged him to trust the black-furred wolf. Dean wasn't good at resisting anything that smelled delicious and he sure as hell wasn't good at resisting Sam. His brother deserved better than to wander aimlessly around forests Dean couldn't entirely trust. No matter how well he provided for the kid, nothing could take the place of the support and love of a pack. For Sam's sake, Dean was willing to try this new pack.

As for the other stuff...well, Castiel could believe whatever he wanted, but Dean wasn't promising shit. Yeah, the guy smelled great and his hindquarters were unusually shapely and his bright blue eyes were mesmerizing against his ebony fur...damnit, Dean wouldn't be coerced into mating. He didn't care that almost every wolf he'd ever spoken with said that mating was sudden and instinctual. Dean wasn't going to let some weirdo with no concept of personal space drag him off to his den without comment.

"You're confusing me," Sam said late that afternoon as they took a quick rest alongside a stream. Castiel had waded right into the middle and was currently rolling around in the frigid water like a hyperactive puppy. In his life, Dean had never seen a grown wolf who acted like such a complete freak.

"How's that?" Dean asked, his eyes glued to Castiel. Every so often a delighted whine or growl of pleasure would reach Dean's ears and make the hair at his neck rise up.

"Well. You keep glaring at Castiel like you hate him, but your scent is...not saying that," Sam said delicately.

"I don't hate him," Dean said truthfully. "But he's fucking insane."

"I wouldn't go that far," Sam said as he sat back on his legs and considered the wolf who was now splashing after fish darting through the clear waters. "A little odd, but he really seems like a good wolf. I can't scent anything deceptive about him."

"I don't think he's lying about anything," Dean said and only then realized how much he meant it. Castiel was presumptuous, bizarre and awkward, but that was partly down to how damn earnest he was about his beliefs. "He thinks we're just gonna move into a den together," Dean continued. "Even though we just met and I could swear I mentioned this several times, but yeah, he's a guy."

Mating may be unexpected, but most mated pairs knew each other growing up. They already had relationships and inclinations. They already knew how they'd be together. Which wolf was dominant, whose den they'd use, which food they best enjoyed hunting together; things like that. Dean didn't know Cas from a tree in the woods.

Also, and Dean couldn't stress this enough, Cas was a guy.

"Okay, point. That's...weird. But you're leaking really gross desire scent all over the place, so you obviously don't care he's a guy that much," Sam said lightly.

Dean was pretty sure the scent between them grew heavy with his utter humiliation. Not being able to control your scent around friends and relatives was a sign of...well, of new mating. There was a good reason new mates ran through the forests together for several weeks, away from their packs. Dean shifted away from Sam.

"Yeah, that's not gonna help. It's really strong."

"...fuck."

"Hey, look. Just...try not to be...well, yourself about this," Sam said, finally moving his gaze from Castiel to Dean. His mouth opened in a slight grin, tongue lolling and all. "Maybe a few years ago, I'd be as freaked out as you, but...after everything..." He shrugged, but Dean could sense how heavily their past still weighed on Sam. Still would for some time to come, Dean suspected. "I wouldn't be turning away from something like that is all I'm saying."

With that, Sam stood and trotted away to lay down in a patch of sun-warmed grass while Dean watched Castiel swim from one end of the stream to the other and thought hard about Sam's advice.

*******************

The wolves were trotting along in single file through a thick knot of bushes when Castiel abruptly stopped and Dean's face plowed right into his tail.

Which dazed Dean more than he cared to admit and made Sam snort with laughter from behind him.

"Damn it, Cas, why'd you stop?"

"We won't be able to make it home tonight," Castiel said, peering over his shoulders with those outrageous blue eyes of his. "I thought we might, but you are both very slow."

"Well, don't let us ruin your trip, you-"

"Dean," Sam interrupted before their conversation devolved into pointless bickering. Something about Castiel erased Dean's ability to focus on anything other than reacting to him. And for some reason, a lot of those reactions made him look like a total ass. "We should find a place to sleep if we're going to do it."

Dean heard the fatigue in Sam's voice. He personally felt too wound up for sleep, but if the kid needed to rest, then they needed to find a safe dry place to spend the night. With a growl meant to sound menacing, but somehow only came out like the whine of an irritated mate, Dean headbutted Castiel again, this time on purpose. Castiel immediately leapt forward, crashing through the undergrowth with speed that Dean had to admit he found impressive. By the time Sam and Dean burst out of the thick foliage, Castiel was sniffing at the entrance of a small cave, wagging his frankly cute little tail with interest.

"I think this will work," he called back. "It's large enough, but easily defensible."

Somehow Dean already knew Castiel well enough to know the other wolf wouldn't have cared about that fact before he met Dean. Dean's overwhelming desire to protect Sam was hardly a secret though. Sometimes Dean felt as though it were the only thing about him that mattered.

"Fine. Sam, you can-"

"I'm sleeping way at the back," Sam interrupted again, marching past them both to dive into the shadows at the back of the cave. "As far from your sickening sex stench as possible."

Embarrassment charged through Dean, but Castiel didn't seem to mind the accusation. He watched Sam go and then gave Dean a very solemn look.

"Don't worry, Dean. We'll be home tomorrow and then once Sam is settled, we can leave again. The scent won't be nearly so oppressive once we've spent several days mating."

...damn.

Dean really hoped Sam was far enough away not to notice the sudden increased flare in that very same scent. Judging by the exaggerated gagging noise echoing at him from the back of the cave, no such luck. The scowl that had been etched on his face since he met Cas only deepened. Dean stalked over to the cave's entrance and plopped down, relaxing enough to get off his feet, but without resting his head. If this night went like the last hundred since losing their pack, his head might never hit his paws. He expected Castiel to lay down against the entrance's other side, but in hindsight, Dean realized he shouldn't have ever expected anything normal from him. Castiel's intoxicating scent filled his nose and a warmth crowded his left flank.

"What...?"

Castiel's head settled on Dean's paw and he let out a satisfied breath. "I'm very sleepy."

He was going to sleep on Dean. Right on his paws like any other submissive partner resting secure in their partner's strength. Castiel trusted Dean to protect the den and keep him warm and...

Dean wasn't sure he could handle this.

"Don't worry," Castiel said, snuggling closer and flopping his tail over Dean's. "You can sleep too. I'll be right here."

Protests wanted to bubble up. After all, Dean hadn't agreed to this mate thing and Castiel was weird and all that stuff. But he'd been alone for so long. Not alone without companionship. But alone in his duty and his problems and Sam wasn't the only one who was tired.

Maybe it wouldn't be so bad if Dean relaxed. Just a little.

He woke up hours later with sunlight warm on his face and his muzzle pillowed atop Castiel's head. It was soft and comfortable and he knew when he drew away, Castiel's scent would cling to him for the rest of the day.

And it was hard to remember why that was a bad thing.

*****************

Balthazar had not been lying when he said sleeping with a mate was very pleasant. Castiel's den was hidden away under a slight hillside covered with short stubby trees. It was warm enough in the winter and shaded enough in the spring. Chosen precisely for comfort and privacy and Castiel loved it. He'd always felt content there.

But it was nothing to sleeping pressed up close to Dean in that large drafty cave. Castiel had never known there was something better than simply being content. He was glad he found out. So glad in fact that the first thing he did upon waking up to find Dean staring down at him was to lean up and lick his face.

"What are you doing?" Dean asked, voice strangled.

"Showing affection," Castiel answer between licks. Families exchanged friendly licks and nibbles, of course, but Castiel had caught glimpses of the more intimate exchanges between mates. They weren't difficult to imitate and nowhere near a hardship. Dean tasted even better than he smelled and Castiel liked the way those pretty green eyes glazed over when he began biting gently on Dean's ears. He scooted closer, dislodging his tail and Castiel grinned into the next kiss when he heard Dean's tail start thumping against the cave's floor.

This mating was going very well.

"Uh...can we go now?"

Ah, yes. Sam. Castiel had entirely forgotten about him. His suggestion was a good one. Castiel's ability to focus on anything other than Dean was severely impaired. They needed to get home as quickly as possible so that Sam would be safe. Castiel thought maybe Dean wouldn't relax into the mating until he felt certain his brother was well-settled.

"Yes, we should find something to eat and then go. We can be back before the sun touches the center of the sky. Dean?"

"Huh?"

Dean's eyes were still soft and unfocused, his gaze locked on Castiel's mouth.

"Are you ready to go?"

A long silence.

"Huh?"

"C'mon!" Sam yelped, nipping at Dean's tail. "You can stare at Cas later. I'm hungry."

"I wasn't staring," Dean denied fiercely the second his brain seemed to return to work. He shot to his feet and barreled out of the cave, away into the forest before Sam could make comment on his ridiculous lie. Castiel wasn't sure why Dean had lied in the first place. Surely he couldn't be expected to act rationally around his new mate.

"I don't understand."

Sam gave him a sympathetic look.

"Dude, I really hope you know what you've gotten yourself into."

********************

It was in the middle of teaching Gabriel's newest cub how to successfully steal a piece of meat without being caught that Balthazar first caught a whiff of a very familiar scent. A familiar scent that should not be returning to the pack so soon. He immediately abandoned the kid and galloped over to Anna.

"D'you...?"

"Yes," she said quickly, her green eyes filled with worry. They were both thinking the same thing. If Castiel were returning so soon, something must be wrong. If he'd discovered a mate, they would have taken to the woods together for the mating. A wild lustful affair that Balthazar enjoyed quite a bit, even if he'd been too out of his mind to really remember it. The idea of Castiel being caught up in the same storm of instinct and emotion was, quite frankly, hilarious and Balthazar had been looking forward to hearing all about it.

But now Castiel was coming back less than three days after leaving.

"Something must have-"

Balthazar cut himself off and made a strangled noise in his throat as a scent hit his nose that made his balls shrivel. Oh god. Oh holy god, the scent of his brother's mating drive was not ever something he needed to experience. The sheer strength of the reek made Balthazar gag.

Or maybe that was just because it was his brother.

Beside him, Anna began to quietly chuckle.

"I don't think Castiel understands how this is supposed to work," she said.

"What is he thinking, bringing that filth into the pack?" Balthazar growled, his fur raising along his back. Anna whipped her tail at him.

"It's not that bad," she informed him.

"Not that bad?" Balthazar exclaimed. "It's..."

Once again, his breath failed him because at that moment, Castiel appeared out of the distant knot of trees and Balthazar saw that Anna was right. It wasn't bad.

It was disastrous.

Along behind Castiel trotted two positively massive wolves. Both brown furred with similar enough features that Balthazar guessed they were related. The bigger had a nasty cut across his muzzle and kept his gaze shifting across the horizon and to either side, clearly paranoid about who or what might be approaching. The other one tried to do the same, but kept being distracted. By Balthazar's brother. By Balthazar's brother nipping at his ears and rubbing his side along the other wolf's and licking his face and...

Acting like a besotted mate.

"Huh," Anna said.

"Oh for...only Cassy could manage to fuck up a mating," Balthazar lamented.

Without even looking at her, Balthazar could sense his mate's amusement. She would turn this into a joke and Balthazar would be forced to come up with one of his own and everything would be alright. It wouldn't matter that Castiel couldn't have cubs or Balthazar couldn't understand why in all the great forests of the world his brother would want to mate a male wolf. They'd get past all that because Balthazar loved his brother, freakiness and all. So it would have been fine.

If Gordon hadn't appeared at Balthazar's side.

"What is that?" he demanded, his scent turning disgusted and angry.

Balthazar tensed. This could be bad.

Very bad.

*******************

"Oh my brother's come to meet us," Castiel said after one particularly vicious bite to Dean's ear that he maybe liked more than he should. No matter what he said or how often he pushed the other wolf off, Castiel would not be deterred from the constant barrage of cuddling, rubbing, biting, and licking. Which made sense because Castiel believed they were mates except they weren't and if Dean didn't push as hard as he should it was only because he felt sorry for the little guy.

"Your brother?"

He glanced up ahead and sure enough, there were two wolves lurking at the edge of what was clearly an established pack boundary. Huh. The idea that Castiel had a brother weirded Dean out. It was hard to accept he hadn't sprouted fully formed from the ground. Possibly as a figment of Dean's diseased imagination. The brother wolf didn't much look like Castiel. His fur was light tan and his body both longer and lankier. The only real similarity was their eyes, both a light blue. But the brother's didn't seem quite as shiny or unusual. Probably because of contrast with Castiel's black fur. Beside the brother stood a cute auburn-toned she-wolf and the way she curled her body towards the brother told Dean she was his mate.

"He sent you out alone?" Dean asked, bemused.

Castiel gave him a curious look. "He told me that mate searches must be completed without assistance."

"Oh."

If Dean had ever been inclined to look for a mate, he sure as hell wouldn't have gone without Sam. That was just insane. He narrowed his eyes at this brother wolf. What kind of family let a socially unstable wolf like Castiel out of the pack without sending along a translator?

"Is he older?" Sam asked politely.

"Yes. By three heat cycles," Castiel said. "His name is Balthazar and standing there alongside him is his mate, Anna. Balthazar thought she would mate with me instead," he added, sounding utterly befuddled.

Sam snorted, whether at Castiel's confusion or the very idea of him having a normal mating, Dean didn't know. Or care really. He was too busy trying to keep the stab of jealousy he felt from reflecting in his scent. And the thrum of embarrassment that followed it. What an absurd emotion. They weren't even together and even if they were, Dean shouldn't give a-

"Who's that?" Sam asked, his voice lowering to a growl of distaste. It drew Dean's swirling thoughts back to the moment. Another wolf had joined Anna and Balthazar, this one older and radiating a significantly less friendly vibe.

"That's Gordon," Castiel answered. "He doesn't like me for some reason. I believe he was the one hinted that I would be forced from the pack if I didn't find a mate."

"What?" Dean hissed, stopping completely to look Castiel in the eye. "They were seriously going to toss you out?" He'd heard of members leaving packs because they preferred a lone status, but never the idea that they'd be forced out if they didn't want to mate. That would never have happened in Dean's pack.

"I don't know," Castiel said with a dismissive tail wag. "But it hardly matters because I'm bringing home a mate."

"He still doesn't look too happy," Sam observed worriedly.

As they drew closer, Dean's nose picked up the scents of the new wolves. Like with most strangers, Anna and Gordon had distinct, but unremarkable scents. But Balthazar's was similar enough to his brother that it made Dean shake his head and try to sneeze. An almost Castiel smell was just too weird. Especially with Cas leaking his mating scent all over the place. At least Balthazar's scent was non-threatening. Concerned, but not a danger. The same with Anna.

Gordon was another story. If his expression and stance was unfriendly, his scent was downright hate-filled. Tension drew Dean's spine straight and he picked up his pace, putting himself in front of Cas and Sam. Dean had been in too many fights not to recognize when one was brewing.

"Hey, Cassy," Balthazar called out. "Who're your friends?"

Of course, Castiel didn't seem to notice the underlying tension. Or if he did, he just didn't care. Dean could imagine that being the case.

"This is Dean and his brother, Sam. I have brought them back to join them with our pack," Castiel said.

"You brought strangers into our pack?" Gordon snarled, his dark eyes gleaming with the strength of the distaste oozing from him. Even if Dean didn't feel the danger in the wolf, he thought he'd probably hate Gordon anyway. The guy seemed like a real jackass.

"They aren't strangers to me," Castiel retorted. "Dean is my mate."

That was when the situation went completely to hell.

Anna's eyes widened and Balthazar gave a deep sigh, her scent turning light with delighted surprise and Balthazar's heavy with resignation. But Dean only barely noted them because they were close now and as soon as Castiel said 'mate', Gordon reared up and charged into Castiel's space, angry words Dean didn't really absorb falling from his lips. Castiel backed up, but not before Gordon's claws swiped at his legs.

Dean lost it.

Later, he wouldn't be able to recall much of what happened because in that moment all Dean knew was a cloudy haze of raw pure rage. The wolf hurt Castiel. The wolf touched Castiel and before Dean realized he'd taken the action, he was on Gordon, biting and tearing at his body without mercy. In that moment, Dean honestly didn't care if Castiel's packmate lived or died. He'd threatened the mate and that's all that mattered.

"Dean! Dean, please!"

Castiel's voice penetrated Dean's mind better than the teeth tugging at his tail. He didn't like how frightened that gorgeous voice sounded. But that didn't mean he could just back off without making his point clear. Dean very reluctantly let Gordon's throat fall from his jaws and spat his own blood in his face. There was none of that ugly dislike in Gordon's eyes now. Only a respectful fear that Dean enjoyed very much.

"Don't you ever fucking touch him," he growled and with that, he turned around and began marching into the pack grounds. "C'mon, Cas," he called over his shoulder. "Show me this goddamned den you keep talking about."

Castiel didn't hesitate to obey Dean's order.

*********************

They got as far as the entrance to the den when Castiel planted himself in front of Dean and wouldn't budge. Which annoyed Dean more than he could understand. Except he was so close to something and though he didn't know what, Dean didn't want to be delayed.

"What?"

"I'm not letting you bring that stench into our den," Castiel said imperiously, his nose wrinkling with disgust at the apparent bad odor on Dean. "I want it to smell like you. Not like Gordon's blood."

Dean looked down at his front paws, both flecked with red and winced. He shouldn't have tried to enter any wolf's domain like that, much less one who was helping him and his brother so much. Dean's mother had taught him better than that. But whatever regret Dean felt about being rude was nothing to the flash of emotion Castiel's second statement caused. An emotion Dean couldn't really identify, but which made him pause and sit back on his haunches, gaze on the soft grass at their feet.

"Uh, Cas. I'm not..."

But he was, Dean realized. It was another denial that wanted to slip off his tongue and yet, he was standing there drenched in the blood of a wolf who dared harmed Castiel. Even now, the thought made Dean's claws dig into the soft ground. Denying the mating now made Dean little better than a cub whining and stamping its paws over having to go to bed.

"Not what?"

Dean tossed his head and growled with frustration. "You're a guy," he said for probably the twentieth time.

"Yes, I believe we've clarified that issue several times," Castiel allowed as he headbutted Dean away from the den and towards the sound of water burbling along. A creek must run right through the pack territory. Surrounded as they were by thick trees, plenty of dark enclosed spaces for dens and that creek, Dean could see why the pack sprang up here. If he didn't fuck everything up, it'd be a great spot to live.

"I'm just not...I was never gonna be all that great at this mating bullshit, but now I really don't have a clue-"

"As I understand it," Castiel interrupted with a rather dismissive tone, "mating is individual to each pair."

"Right, okay, but...if you were a girl, at least there'd be some examples," Dean pointed out.

"How come I'd be the girl?"

"Oh please, you'd be the girl. I'm the badass dominant here," Dean said, somewhat smugly. After all, he did just beat the shit out of someone for Cas. That totally made him the guy. Also, it wasn't like he was going to let Castiel mount him. Like ever.

"My packmate Jo is dominant over her mate, Ash," Castiel said with a frown. "And she is decidedly female. You have very narrow thoughts."

"No, I don't!" Dean exclaimed, stopping at the water's edge to glare at Castiel. "You're just think sideways about everything."

Castiel gave the sigh of a beleaguered mate. "What is the point of this conversation, Dean?"

Oh right. The point. Dean's arrogant posturing faded away and he found his gaze locked on the ground again. After the last two days of vehement denial over this mating, his next words would not be easy to say and the only way he could was if he pretended the wet-shiny rocks at the creek's edge were his intended audience.

"I'm not gonna be a good mate," he muttered.

"How do you know if you haven't tried it before?"

"Look, I'm just not, okay? And I think...you would probably figure that out after awhile."

A long silence met his pained offer. So long in fact that Dean was finally forced to look up. Castiel looked shell-shocked, blue eyes wide with fearful confusion.

"Are you saying you don't want to be my mate?"

"What? No!" Dean exclaimed before he could even consider the matter. That, even more than his beating of Gordon, convinced Dean that he wasn't going to suddenly stop scenting Castiel as his mate or even want to stop. No one would ever smell that wonderful anyway, guy or not. "I'm just saying we don't even know each other."

The panic receded abruptly out of Castiel's expression to be replaced with indulgent fondness.

"Oh, I see. You wish to become acquainted before we absolutely choose one another."

"...uh, sure, I guess."

"Does that mean you want to postpone the wilderness mating? Because I think-"

"No!" Dean practically shouted again. "I mean, it's not like we can help that part, right? It'd just gross everyone out if we hung around without calming that scent down."

With days and days of enthusiastic screwing. Dean's tail began to wag.

"Alright," Castiel agreed pleasantly. "Mating first and then becoming acquainted."

"Okay. Yeah, that's good."

"Can I please wash your fur off now?"

Dean's tail began wagging so hard it was a blur along the ground. "You're going to wash it off?"

"Oh yes. It's a very important part of bonding, of course. My brother has described the many times he and Anna provided each other with ritual bathing to draw each other closer together," Castiel explained. Dean frowned. Ritual bathing? He'd never heard of that before. It sounded...strange.

But then Castiel was pretty fucking strange. And he did need to get the stink off him.

"Right then. So...what's involved?"

Castiel pounced on him and knocked Dean right into the creek with a terrific splash. Water went straight up his nose and as Dean came up coughing, the only thought on his mind was revenge. With some difficulty, he straightened up and tackled Castiel, growling with laughter at the yelp he heard right before Castiel's head went under. He came back up with a splutter, thick fur plastered flat on his skull and with surprising speed jumped back on Dean. They rolled end over end, splashing and barking at each for so long, Dean didn't notice the sunlight fading until Castiel bit down at the fur along his neck and dragged him back to shore. They crawled up on the ground and collapsed, both exhausted, wet and thoroughly clean.

"Now we can go home," Castiel finally said after his breath returned to his lungs.

Dean's own breath caught and he rolled over to stare at Castiel.

That was it. That was what had been delayed and upset Dean so badly.

He wanted to go home.

"Yeah," Dean said, voice thick. "I guess we can."

********************

"I should make sure Sam's settled somewhere," Dean said as they neared the den. The thought had touched his mind several times during their water playtime, but Dean hadn't wanted to interrupt that odd carefree mood that abruptly cropped up between them. And he knew Sam was safe here. Dean had declared himself in a way that no wolf could misunderstand.

Castiel changed directions immediately. "I suspect Anna has taken him under her care. Now that we are all in the same family."

The casual way Castiel dropped that word made Dean stumble over a rock, though he managed to keep moving and play it off as an accident. Family wasn't something Dean took lightly, but Castiel made it sound easy. A done deal. Dean wasn't so sure. Okay, yeah, he could admit they were probably mates. But that was biology. Building a family took time.

He kept those thoughts to himself for the same reason he'd kept quiet about Sam. Happiness wasn't the status quo of Dean's life. He felt good tonight and he wanted to keep feeling good.

"Okay, awesome," Dean said and then grinned when Castiel stepped closer to rub his side along Dean's. That certainly wouldn't hurt in the feeling good department. Drenching himself in water for an hour hadn't done anything to erase that intoxicating scent of Castiel's. If Dean had stopped for even a second to consider it, he would have been mortified by how much he resembled all those idiotic besotted new mates he saw in his previous pack. But he was too busy nipping at Castiel's scruff and laughing like a deranged hyena when Castiel retaliated by pouncing him to the ground.

They were grungy and covered in leaves by the time they showed up at Balthazar and Anna's den.

"There you are!" Anna said, though through her exasperated tone, Dean thought he saw a hint of knowing amusement. "I was about to help Sam bed down in Lucifer's old den."

"Oh," Castiel said with some surprise. "I had forgotten his home lay empty still. Lucifer went lone many cycles ago," he added to Dean.

"Great," Dean said, wondering for a moment why Castiel bothered to give him this random bit of information.

Then he remembered.

This was his pack now. Pack history was important, his father had always told him sternly before giving a lecture Dean would barely hear. Sorrow lanced through him. All that knowledge lost because he was too lazy to pay attention. Dean eyed Sam. Sammy probably remembered a lot of it.

"Why'd he go lone?" Sam asked with genuine curiosity. Oh yeah, he definitely would remember all the junk Dean didn't bother to learn.

"Because he was an insufferable jackass," Balthazar grumbled from just inside the den.

"Balthazar was frightened of him," Castiel said brightly as he and Anna led Dean and Sam towards the unused den. "Lucifer was quite large and demanding."

"I was not!" Balthazar called out, a fading snarl in the background. Anna snorted.

"Anyway, the point is, Sam can sleep here while you're gone. And speaking of gone, please leave tonight or at first light," she said, nose wrinkling. "It was cute before, but now I'm just gagging on your sex cooties."

"God, yes, please," Sam seconded. "I vote for tonight."

Dean glanced sideways at Castiel. Tonight. He gulped. They could leave tonight and spend who knows how long mating. The fur at his neck rose in a long ruffled line that traveled down the entirety of his back. The wild and dirty direction of his thoughts obviously made the scent worse because Sam stopped and headbutted him with all the force of his massive body.

"Go! I'll be fine here."

"I'll take good care of him," Anna promised.

That was all Dean needed to hear.

"C'mon, Cas," he growled. "Let's do this."

Now it was Castiel's turn to trip over himself in his haste to follow Dean into the forest.

*******************

In the darkest part of the forest, where few creatures dared tread, the wolf hunted his prey.

Being so far from any civilized pack grounds drew the wolf towards a wildness he'd only rarely experienced. Identity and memory faded to fuzzy images, nothing next to the hunt and the goal.

The prey sat in a clearing, seemingly unaware of the wolf's presence. A deceptively easy catch, but the wolf knew better. This prey could be dangerous. The best approach was a silent one. The wolf had little experience with this part of the forest, but it didn't matter. His skill as a hunter knew no equal.

The prey stood no chance of escape.

Flattening himself against the ground, the wolf used the shade of a berry bush to observe the prey. It stretched two slender front legs in front of its athletic body and leaned forward, arching its strong back. The wolf must take care not to give the prey a chance to run. He crept forward a few inches, pausing when the prey sniffed at the air and threw a curious glance near the wolf's position. It wasn't until the prey returned to sunning itself in the one beam of light that made it through the dense trees that the wolf relaxed.

Even from several meters away, the wolf could sense his prey begin to become drowsy. Something about the prey's lack of concern, its absolute trust in its surroundings drew heat into the wolf's veins. The urge to attack, to reveal his presence grew strong, almost undeniable. He held the power to both break and prove the prey's trust and the power made the wolf's head feel dizzy.

But the thing that ultimately drew his attack was when the prey laid down on a pile of leaves, carelessly sprawled across the ground and utterly vulnerable.

The wolf leapt from the shadows and pounced on the prey, snarling with satisfaction when the prey yelped and tried to buck the wolf off.

That is, until the prey saw its attacker. Then it fell limp and sighed.

"Again, Dean?" the prey said tiredly. "I'm trying to get some rest."

The wolf growled, his mouth at the prey's throat, nipping and breathing in a deeply rich and beautiful scent. The prey was his and the wolf didn't want to wait.

"Very well, but then you'll have to hunt me something very delicious for dinner," the prey complained.

The wolf yipped an agreement.

After all, it paid to keep the prey happy.

 

***********************

Castiel didn't quite know what to make of this situation. The original mating frenzy had lasted for longer than Castiel could even recall. He'd never lost touch with his mental faculties for that long. It actually rather annoyed him. He could barely remember that first time. All he could recall was the heat and Dean's now very familiar scent. And that he enjoyed it very much.

That had been days ago. Not that the mating had stopped. Even without that urgent instinctive need controlling their actions, Dean and Castiel still seemed to find ample time to mate. Having not paid the attention he should have to such matters, Castiel wasn't entirely sure how often his fellow wolves mated, but even so, he got the impression that Dean was particularly...lusty. Which Castiel appreciated quite a bit.

Except...they didn't talk very much. Their agreement had been that once the frenzy died, they would begin to become acquainted. In truth, Castiel had learned a great deal about Dean by becoming his mating partner. He'd discovered Dean to be both insatiable and generous, extremely unsubtle when he desired physical intimacies and alternately rough and gentle. He knew that mating made Dean drowsy to the point of sleep every single time, even if they'd just woken up. Castiel liked to watch the way Dean's nose twitched in sleep and the way he managed to roll into the nearest beam of light no matter how deeply he slept. Dean dreamed a lot. Not always pleasant things either, if the way he whined and yipped sometimes was any indication. Awake, Dean would probably not like to learn that he only ever settled from these dreams when Castiel pressed close to his side and laid his muzzle atop Dean's head.

But still, Castiel wanted to learn more. He wanted to know what happened to Dean's pack and how he'd survived alone with only his brother for help. They'd taken to hunting together, so Castiel knew what Dean liked to eat, but he didn't know any of Dean's stories. Every wolf had stories to share. Stories of the past, the future and of things that had never happened. Pack mythologies shared from one generation to the next. Dean didn't tell them. He preferred to play and mate and eat. Insistent on Castiel's presence, but apparently shying away from any actual sharing of himself.

Like he was still unsure if they were mates. It hurt Castiel and he wasn't sure how to express that emotion. He didn't want to pressure Dean, but he did need to know if Dean intended to stay with him. If they would ever become real mates. Because Castiel thought he couldn't stand only play-acting at being mates with Dean for the rest of his life.

"Dean?"

"Hrgh?" Dean grunted, his mouth full of the bone he was gnawing. Castiel preferred to delicately strip the meat from his bone and then toss it aside. Dean preferred to destroy every last bit of food in his meal.

"When do you think we should return home?"

Dean shrugged and spit out a bone fragment that landed with a wet plop on Castiel's paw. "Sorry," he said, green eyes apologetic. Castiel glared at him and flicked the bone fragment at Dean's face. When it hit him square on the nose, Castiel lost his train of thought in favor of laughing at the shocked look in those lovely eyes. The next thing he knew, Dean had abandoned his meal in favor of pouncing Castiel, knocking him in a way Castiel had learned well. He landed on his back with Dean's mouth at his throat, biting very gently. He sighed with pleasure, eyes fixed on the far canopy of trees.

Maybe they could talk about the future later.

Unfortunately, they didn't get very far. One moment, Dean was happily nibbling at Castiel's ear. In the next, his head shot up and his eyes narrowed at the edge of the forest line around their clearing.

"Cas," he growled softly. "Get behind me."

"What-"

Dean leapt up and shoved Castiel back towards the side of the clearing away from whatever threat Dean sensed.

"I said get behind me and stay there," Dean barked, a dark line of fur raised along his entire back. It took a moment for the scent of arousal to leave Castiel's nose before he got a whiff of the other wolves. Strangers, but unfamiliar to him. Obviously, that wasn't the case with Dean.

"Who is it?" Castiel whispered from Dean's hind quarters.

"It's them," Dean growled. He was tense and his scent carried the stench of rage. "The ones that hurt Sam." He paused before speaking again, voice dangerously low.

"The ones that killed my pack."


End file.
